Students to become Blugold alumni at May 20 commencement Commencement ceremonies for
1,151 students at UW-Eau Claire will be held Saturday, May 20, in Zorn Arena.
Barbara Lawton, lieutenant governor of the State of Wisconsin, will deliver the "Charge to the Class" during the morning and afternoon ceremonies. Read more about spring commencement and meet some of UW-Eau Claire's outstanding graduates on the May 2006 commencement Web site.

Interim Chancellor
Vicki Lord Larson

Chancellor Designate Brian Levin-Stankevich

Time of transition:Campus thanks Vicki Lord Larson, welcomes Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich
As UW-Eau Claire students, faculty and staff look forward to working with their new chief executive, Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich, who begins June 1 as UW-Eau Claire's chancellor, they also bid farewell to their interim leader of the past 15 months, Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson, whose term will end May 31. Read more about Larson's departure and Levin-Stankevich's June 1 arrival.

Summer events planned for Blugold alumni and friendsAlumni and friends are invited to participate in the following events during the summer months (for complete details and registration information, visit the online Alumni Events Calendar):

Aug. 30: "The Geography of Fans of Professional Baseball and Football" ("Let's Do Lunch" noon-hour lecture series)

Bill Cosby to make Sept. 29 appearances at UW-Eau Claire

Bill Cosby

Tickets are on sale for two comedy performances by Bill Cosby during the Friday, Sept. 29, Parents Weekend kick-off at UW-Eau Claire. The shows, titled "An Evening with Bill Cosby," will begin at 5 and 8 p.m. in Zorn Arena.

Tickets are $40 (main floor, reserved seating), $35 (bleachers, reserved seating), or $30 (gallery, reserved seating). Tickets will be available at the Service Center in Davies Center's east lobby and will be sold, if available, at the door. Cosby's performances are presented by the University Activities Commission of the UW-Eau Claire Student Senate and Event Resources Presents Inc. Full story.

Staff member, alumna receives UW System excellence award

Patti See '90, '94

Patti See, senior student services coordinator in UW-Eau Claire's Academic Skills Center, is one of two UW System recipients of the 2006 Regents Academic Staff Award for Excellence.

See and Lynn Markham, a land use specialist with UW-Stevens Point's Center for Land Use Education, each received a $5,000 award for professional development or to enhance a university program or function. The awards were presented May 4 at the UW System Board of Regents meeting in Madison. Nominees for the award included one academic staff member from each UW institution, and a selection committee chaired by Regent Eileen Connolly-Keesler of Oshkosh chose the recipients.

See, who also teaches women's studies courses, received bachelor's and master's degrees in English from UW-Eau Claire in 1990 and 1994, respectively. Full story.

Minnesota Book Award goes to John Hildebrand

John Hildebrand

John Hildebrand, UW-Eau Claire professor of English, has been awarded the Minnesota Humanities Commission's Minnesota Book Award for "A Northern Front: New and Selected Essays," published by Borealis Books, 2005.

The Minnesota Book Awards recognize, honor and celebrate the best in Minnesota literature. The award finalists represent what some call "the best reading list in Minnesota." The essays in Hildebrand's book "address, from different vantage points, the need to preserve our natural places. The writing is rich in metaphor, expansive in its treatment of universal human themes, and full of literary references," commission judges wrote. "The result is a work that involves the reader and offers an everyman's view of environmental issues, rather than an elitist or academic perspective." Full story.

Emerita psychologist Katherine Schneider publishes memoir Katherine Schneider, UW-Eau Claire senior psychologist emerita, has published her memoir, "To the Left of Inspiration: Adventures in Living with Disabilities." In her book, Schneider, who has been blind since birth and a Seeing Eye dog user for the past 30 years, takes the reader through the activities of her daily life. The book is available at the Eau Claire Borders store, as well as from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers. It is available in accessible format from BookShare.org. Full story.

Katherine Schneider and her former guide dog, Garlyn (contributed photo)

Students and faculty in UW-Eau Claire's interdisciplinary computational science program discuss real-world problems to include as subject matter in the program curriculum and, potentially, in curricula for computational classes across the country. (UW-Eau Claire photo by Rick Mickelson)

Computational science program promotes interdisciplinary approach to problem solving UW-Eau Claire is one of a handful of schools across the country at the forefront of the development of new undergraduate programs in computational science, thanks to the efforts and foresight of faculty members who have taken to heart UW-Eau Claire's designation as the UW System's Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Research Collaboration. UW-Eau Claire is a part of the Keck Undergraduate Computational Science Education Consortium, a group of institutions from around the country collaborating to develop class-tested materials and curricula for a variety of computational science classes. Full story.

Juan Carlos Chaves

Nursing students can pursue new Spanish minor Nursing students with an interest in Spanish can now earn a Spanish for Health Professions minor at UW-Eau Claire. "Future nursing students can graduate with expertise in communicating in Spanish in the area of health care, a growing need in Wisconsin and in the United States," said Juan Carlos Chaves, assistant professor of foreign languages. The program will be phased in over the course of the next three years. Full story.

Alumnus gift supports student tutor stipends

Michael Knetter '83

Tutoring fellow students led a UW-Eau Claire graduate to a teaching career. Now Michael Knetter '83, dean of the School of Business and professor of finance, investment and banking at UW-Madison, has established a new fund providing stipends for tutors in the UW-Eau Claire department of economics.

The gift is recognized as a contribution to Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation's ongoing comprehensive campaign to benefit UW-Eau Claire's people and programs. The Michael Knetter Tutoring Award is one of three new funds that have been established for the UW-Eau Claire's economics department since the campaign began in 2000. Full story.

Alumni success stories Read about the accomplishments of these and other UW-Eau Claire alumni on the Alumni Success Stories Web pages:

Zachary Verriden '04 finds his passion in the classroom during his first year with Teach for America. Full story.

Barbara (Roepke) Snell '75 is honored as a Woman of Distinction for her contributions to Madison area health care. Full story.

Andrei Strizek '05 is a new band director at Chippewa Falls High School. Full story.

Cynthia Greening '97 is part of a pivotal moment in filmmaking history in Zambia, Africa. Full story.

Show how much you know about UW-Eau Claire — AND win great Blugold prizes! E-mail your answer to this month's question to the Blugold Trivia mailbox (trivia@uwec.edu). Those sending correct responses to this month's question will be entered in a drawing for a UW-Eau Claire alumni fleece blanket. The name of this month's Blugold Trivia winner will be published in the June issue of e-View.

May Blugold Trivia question:

What is the name of one of the eight outstanding May 2006 graduates featured on UW-Eau Claire's commencement 2006 Web site?

Know the answer? E-mail it, along with your name and class year, to trivia@uwec.edu. You'll be notified by e-mail if you are this month's winner!

April's winner:
Congratulations to Tonya Miller, a 1998 elementary education graduate currently pursuing her master's degree in reading at UW-Eau Claire, who has won a UW-Eau Claire alumni golf shirt. Tonya was among those who correctly answered that, including Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich but not including interim and acting chancellors, UW-Eau Claire has had seven presidents and chancellors.